b. at
Mynydd-bach
, a smallholding in the village of
Hermon
, in the parish of
Llanfyrnach, Pemb.
,
28 Dec. 1879
, the second son of the family of five children of
Dan
and
MariLewis
. His father worked at the
Llanfyrnach lead mine
until it closed and he had to go to
Aberdare
to find work, but following a serious injury he was unable to continue working. He d. aged 43 of
lead poisoning
. Despite this the children were given a good upbringing and the opportunity to make good; two of them achieved good posts in education and banking, but it was the
preacher
who was
Mynydd-bach
's most notable contribution to
Welsh
life.

David John
received his early education in the elementary school at
Hermon
where
PrincipalThomasRees
had been a pupil ten years earlier. He entered the school on
July 7, 1884
;
T.E.Nicholas
was one of his contemporaries there. The
headmaster
at the time was
JohnDavies
from
Felin-foel
, a strict disciplinarian, who had succeeded
RobertBryan
in
1883
. According to that article,
Bryan
had been
headmaster
at
Whitland
but that was merely the postal address of the school at
Hermon
. The
Sunday school
at
Brynmyrnach
was more important to him in his development as a
preacher
than his day school. When he was 14 he was
apprenticed as a tailor
to
DafyddJones
,
Brynawel
,
Hermon
. He was one of nine apprentices noted for their talent. The discipline of this craft was to be reflected in the smart appearance of the
preacher
for the rest of his life. Religion and culture flourished in the area and under the firm influence of his mother, the inspiration of its literary figures, especially
BrynachDavies
and important ministers like
JohnStephens
(
Llwyn-yr-hwrdd
), father of
ProfessorJ. OliverStephens
,
O.R.Owen
,
Glandwr
and
BenDavies
,
Tre-lech
(
1840
-
1930
)
, he was fired with the desire to be a
preacher
.

After a period at
Myrddin School
(the
Old College School
), he entered the
Memorial College
,
Brecon
in
1901
. After some difficulty with mathematics he was able to complete the
entry criteria to the
University of Wales
and he started his degree course in the
University College of Cardiff
in
1903
. He graduated with 2nd-class honours in
Hebrew
in
1905
. For the next two years he followed the
B.D.
course at the
Memorial College
. He received full marks in the
New Testament
Greek
paper in
1906
and special praise from the examiner on the philosophy of religion paper. He completed the second year of the
B.D.
in the summer of
1907
but by then the young enthusiastic church at
Bethesda
,
Tumble
, had, since February, called him to be their
minister
. He was ordained there
July 3, 1907
and he remained there for the rest of his life, and became known as ‘
Lewis Tymbl
’.

He soon became a much loved figure in the Welsh pulpit, his magnetic personality almost greater in appeal than his sermons. These always covered a single topic and reached a climax to end with unexpected suddenness. He received many invitations to preach from all over
Wales
. His most famous and best known sermons were ‘
Do you wish to be made whole?
’ (‘
Roll up the mat
’), ‘
Mary breaking the ointment box
.’ (‘
She broke the alabaster box
’), ‘
Cast your bread on the surface of the water
,’ ‘
They departed into their country another way
,’ ‘
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord
.’ His lectures were almost as popular as his sermons — ‘
The art of living
,’ ‘
David Livingstone
’ and ‘
Shon Gymro
.’ He preached from notes on postcards; he disliked writing anything in full and he did not like to be restricted to a script. This is why he refused to preach on the radio after one attempt.

He was
President
of the
Union of Welsh Independents
for
1945-46
and he delivered his address, ‘
Bwrw'r draul
,’ at
Ebenezer
,
Swansea
in
June 1945
. This was published in
IeuanDavies
’ biography of ‘
Lewis Tymbl
’ and one of his sermons in
Llef y Gwyliedydd
(ed.
E. CurigDavies
,
1927
). However, his lively personality could not be conveyed on paper.

He never married and he spent forty years in two lodgings in
Tumble
. He was taken ill in
December 1946
and he underwent surgery in
Cardiff
. He was not allowed to preach subsequently and he d.
10 March 1947
in
Morriston hospital
. He was interred in
Crymych
cemetery on
Sunday 16 March
after the biggest snowstorm within living memory had prevented the funeral taking place the previous day. A memorial booklet was published.